Symplectic effective field theory for nuclear structure studies

A symplectic effective field theory that unveils the observed emergence of symplectic symmetry in atomic nuclei is advanced. Specifically, starting from a simple extension of the harmonic-oscillator Lagrangian, an effective field theory applied against symplectic basis states is shown to yield a Hamiltonian system with one fitted parameter. The scale of the system can be determined self-consistently as the ratio of the average volume of a nucleus assumed to be spherical to its volume as determined by the average number of oscillator quanta, which is stretched by the fact that the plane-wave solution satisfies the equations of motion at every order without the need for perturbative corrections. As an application of the theory, results for Ne-20, Ne-22, and Mg-22 are presented that yield energy spectra, B(E2) values, and matter radii in good agreement with experimentally measured results.

Automated summary

The symplectic effective field theory discussed in the article unveils the emergence of symplectic symmetry in atomic nuclei. By extending the harmonic-oscillator Lagrangian, the theory can calculate nuclear volume, energy spectra, and B(E2) values with good agreement to experimental results.